To Save My Mother

To Save My Mother

I am always thinking about my mother. My father was having affairs, for decades, and he was leaving her and living other places. After my one year at my second college, the Appalachian Bible College in Bradley, West Virginia USA, 2006 - 2007, I returned back to the same trailer that I was born and raised in, which is at Rose Grove "Ghetto" Mobile Trailer Park Community: 3839 Pacific Avenue Space Unit # 163 in Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon, United States of northern America.

I gave my mother the money (almost $2,000 USD) that I earn from the Camp Kuratli during that summer of the year 2007, when I was 22 years old. I was there to save the life of my mother (Marilyn Mitchell of Restore Main Street).

I promised to stay with my mom for at least a year, so that I could support her. I felt conflicted when I saw the opportunity to do Revolution Hawaii. I told my mother about my conflict and I said that I would still honor my commitment to her, but she told me that she would be fine. So, I ended up doing Revolution Hawaii after getting the blessing and approval of my mother.

My mom reunited with her high school friend, Bill Williams Cunningham, and they moved all of her things to his house in Shelton, Washington, United States. My dad helped carry things out of the house. My dad ended up living there after my mom moved out. My dad still lives there. My mom marries Bill in November of 2008. I walked her down the aisle. Bill died in 2011 I think. My mom married Larry Mitchell in 2012. I was not there for that.


2007
22 years old
Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Boring, Oregon, United States
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Joey Arnold

Pocketball

Pocketball.

When I was 19 years old, in 2004, during my last year at the Forest Grove High School, home of the Vikings, for my required Senior Project, I invented a game, a sport, that is like pool with pool balls, similar to carpetball (gutterball), and I named it Pocketball. My church friend Paul Walker served as my so-called mentor, mostly to get me out to around Banks, Oregon USA to the farm house of the Hoefts out in the countries where we spent weeks constructing a 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet high of a table made of wood. I was taught about how to use power tools for screws and for cutting wood. I also had experience in wood construction from my Woods 1 & 2 classes in high school. I also had a welding class back in ninth grade in the year 2000.

I donated this Pocketball table to my Community Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Oregon. The pastor was Bill Gasser. They kept the table downstairs in a room near the youth group rooms so that the children and youth can play it. They kept the table there for several years. i am not sure what they did with it.

January, 2004
19 years old
Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold

Rediscovering Tiffany

Rediscovering Tiffany.

In 2001, when I was 16 years old, me and Bill Bailey decided to look for our childhood friend, Tiffany Cumbo. I first met her in 1990. We have not seen her since she and her family moved some years back. We looked in the yellow pages which has last names, addresses, and phone numbers. It may have taken a few days but we found her during the 2nd or so week of August 2001 I think.

I had my camcorder. I recorded our time that day, since it was an interesting reunion that I will not forget. It was the last time I caught her on my camcorder, but it turned out that the video was not working, and so you cannot see her or anyone on those VHS video-cassette tapes from 2001, since the camcorder had a broken video door. I would use duct tape to keep it close.

I was 16 years old when I found her again.

She was 16 when I lost her again, that is when she died in 2003.


August 2001
16 years
Cornelius, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, the Original Oatmeal

Cool Kid in 1999

Cool Kid in 1999.

I was playing basketball at our park, which is a few houses from my house, or I mean trailer. This is in my neighborhood, the Rose Grove, in Forest Grove, Oregon USA. I was playing with white-skin Randy, Joe, and brown-skin Hispanic Elder. It started raining. I slid in the rain with my sneakers but I made some shots. They would call me kid. They would see me do things and they would say cool. I was a kid. I was cool. You put the two words together and that is what they started calling me. Either Randy or Elder named me the Cool Kid. Later I would have other nicknames like Ghetto Joe, Joe Dirt, Tweety, Joe Cool. Randy, his brother Joe, and Elder did drugs sometimes. They may have went to jail a few times, or I am not sure.

June 1999
14 years old
163, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold

Best Friends 1998

Best Friends 1998.

This may have been the first year that I started making the Best Friends posters, which included pictures that I drew of people, friends, family members, that I have met in person, and it included characters from Star Wars, the Power Rangers, and the Lion King. I would basically make it look like a group photo, like as if I could get all these people to be in a picture together. I think I made one for the years of 1999 and 2000 but I may have stopped after that. I may have only made 3 of these posters, just for those 3 years.

1998
13 years old
163, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold

Power Rangers Kids Sequel

Power Rangers Kids Sequel.

I started filming the sequel to our hour-long 1996 live-action parody film Power Rangers Kids. The nemesis in the first film was Lot. In the sequel, the new nemesis was Loxx Catt, which was played by our cat Puffer Cat who ended up being murdered that same year of 1997 I think. This may have the same camcorder that my dad bought my brother back in the 1st or so of February 1996, or eventually our dad got us another one, but both of them had problems and I never finished the sequel. I recorded a few minutes for the sequel while my brother was at school, but I think he did not want me to use the camcorder or I am not sure what was happening.

7th of March, 1997
12 years old
163, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold

Little Crystal Riding Hood

My older sister, Katie Jean Arnold, got me to play the big bad wolf in a bear mask from cousin Alan Williams (or at least he recognized it once), my younger sister Crystal to play the little red riding hood, and Lisa Evers as the mother and grandma of the little red riding hood, during the day after our dad came home with a camcorder for my brother's birthday which is on the 5th of February 1996.

We made the Little Crystal Riding Hood in the afternoon of Friday, the 2nd of February 2013.

Bill & Janet Bailey

Bill & Janet Bailey.

My younger five year old sister, Crystal Ann Arnold, brought me to our park to meet her new friends, Bill & Janet Bailey, which was expected since she was meeting dozens of people from that moment on. This may have been the year that I met them, or it was 1994. Bill Bailey was my best childhood friend, which makes Tiffany Cumbo my second favorite, and Janet is possibly the 3rd favorite. I did Revolution Hawaii in 2007 - 2008. Janet ended up doing Revolution Hawaii as well some years after that. Janet follows Christ, but Bill and their sister Lisa Evers does not.

I kind of felt like we were enemies at first. They lived in trailer number 39. I lived in 163. I went to their trailer but was scared of their dog who kept on barking. Janet or Bill said that their father has a bow and arrow that he may use on me if I do not leave. I am not sure what was going on. They ended up going to our house that same day and I gave them a tour. I was friends with Bill until like 2004 or so. I last saw Janet in 2012 or so.

1995
10 years old
39, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, the Original Oatmeal

Bhakti & Juya Sa

Bhakti & Juya Sa.

Brian and his son, Brian, and his other son, and his wife, lived next door to us, in unit 164. In 1993, Bhakti & Juya Sa moved in and they started climbing our tree. Their ancestors may have been from India or something. I would play with them all of the time. They lived with their sister and younger baby brother and mom and dad. They did follow Hindu or something. They started going to our Cornelius Community Baptist Church in Cornelius, Oregon, USA. Their dad was abusive. In 1994 or so, they suddenly moved to their grandparents house, or relatives, in Seattle, Washington USA, in order to get away from their dad. The father may have sexually abused his own daughter.

They were one of my favorite childhood friends of all time, alongside of Tiffany & Michael Cumbo, and Bill & Janet Bailey.

August 1993
8 years old
164, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches.

Before I was Oatmeal, I was the Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches (PB&J) Boy, because I would always make myself some like a few each day and our neighbors would say something like, "Every time I see you, you are eating one of those." I may have been caught picking my nose a few times. Is tarted to stop that around this time in 1992 when I was 7 years old. The father, at the trailer next to us, in unit 164, built a play structure, which had a fort, swings, slide, and a few things like that. I enjoyed going there to play with the kids, Brian and Erin. Tiffany Cumbo started like dating Brian, which kind of made me jealous.

I was eating lots of spaghetti in 1991 when I was 6 years old. In 1992, when I was 7 years old, I started eating PB&J. in 1993, when I was 8 years old, I started cooking and eating pots-full of oatmeal.

1992
7 years old
164, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Indians

Indians.

I think I began drawing Indians in 1991 when I was 6 years old. This may have been after seeing Indians at a fair in Hillsboro, Oregon USA.

1991
6 years old
Forest Grove & Hillsboro, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

All Dogs Go To Heaven

I remember watching All Dogs Go To Heaven, a cartoon film about dogs going to Heaven and Hell. I saw it originally when I was 4 years old, or so.


Friday: 17th of November: 1989
4 years old
163 Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Mike & Kyle Vanderzanden

Mike & Kyle Vanderzanden.

In 1988 or 1989, when I was 3 or 4 years old, Mike & Kyle Vanderzanden moved next door to us to unit 162, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon USA. They had a small loud-barking dog named Quincy that I was always scared of. He lived from like the 1980's until 2005 or so. I was friends with Kyle until like 2008 or so. His dad (Mike) had at least one divorce and was drinking. Mike was raised Catholic but then he asked Christ to save him in the year 1994 or so. Mike would take Kyle to church and to Creation Fest sometimes. Kyle liked the song Jesus Freak by DC Talk I think, but Kyle may not be Christian, but his dad, Mike is. I never really talked to Mike until the past few years. I started going to church with him in 2008 maybe and then 2011 and 2012.

They had a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I saw bits and pieces of the film Indiana Jones. They had cable for a few years. Kyle had a arcade machine in his room. It was classic. We would play hide and seek. Sometimes, one of us may hide on the top of the arcade machine or in the closet, or in the bathroom, or behind the couch, or under the bed in his dad's room.

1989
4 years old
162, Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Alien

Alien

I thought I was an alien when I was four years old in the year 1989 because my older brother and sister would mention how hard it is to understand me, that I must be an alien, that I must be from another planet for how out of this world that I am, for how strange I am.



1989
Four years old
Forest Grove, Oregon, USA
Joey Arnold

Humming

Humming.

I started Humming in 1988 when  was 3 years old, if not sooner. I could keep the melody but I was not able to talk or sing well. My younger sister was the opposite. She would remember the words to a song and sing it off tune. I can sing it on tune but with the wrong words. I was able to hum.

1988
3 years old
163: Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Family Photo 1988

I remember holding onto my yellow binoculars as we walked to the Forest Grove First Baptist Church. It was me, my brother, sister, and mother. My younger sister was not born yet and my father was most likely at work.


1988
3 years old
Forest Grove First Baptist Church: Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Loner

Loner.

The younger I was, the more alone I was. I was in my own fantasy world. I would pretend that my hands were people. I started playing the game Power Rangers in 1993 or so. In other words, I would play by myself. I would run around and pretend that sticks were spaceships. The older I got, the more I begin socializing with others. I was crawling in the dirt and on the floor early on.

1987
2 years old
163: Rose Grove, Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Cute Fat Baby

Cute Fat Baby

I think I was a cute fat baby when I was two years old in the year 1987.

1987
Two years old
Forest Grove, OR USA
Joey Arnold

Ducktales

I love this show Ducktales.


1987
2 years old
Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Freckles

There are freckles on my face and body.


1986
1 years old
163 Rose Grove: Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal